Hi all, first I want to say thanks to all the knowledgeable consumers & professionals who post here! I’ve found the info invaluable. I started electrolysis (thermolysis method) on my face last month with a woman recommended by a friend, I’ve been going every 2 weeks and the other day we started on my underarms. I’ve been doing all kinds of hair removal in all kinds of places since I was 8 years old…I resumed waxing after a terrible experience with the laser a few years ago, but recently I was breaking out in bumps after every treatment and I knew I had to try something permanent. After the upper lip I decided underarms were the next priority since I love sleeveless tops but waxing hurts too much and shaving’s irritating and bad-looking.
We did about 20 minutes on each underarm. I was squirming after a couple minutes, so she applied LMX to the left and let it sit while she finished on the right. I found it helpful even leaving it on a short time, so I bought a tube and next time will apply an hour before treatment.
After 20 minutes on each I was reaching my pain tolerance so I was glad the appointment was over…but it looks to me like we only cleared, at most, 1/4 of what was there! She said my hairs in that area “very consistently” grow two per follicle, perhaps that slowed us down (it takes more than one treatment to get both hairs, right? Or can a pro get both with one zap?). Also, she spent a lot of time in two very red, ingrown areas. Anyway, I’d been growing it out for her all week, and afterward the remaining hairs felt quite irritating against the raw skin she’d treated. Even worse, I’ve been afraid to shave and make it even scratchier. Luckily I don’t have any bumps or scabs after 2 days, so I suppose I’ll try and shave today.
At this rate I’m afraid it’ll take ages to clear…hopefully the LMX will let me tolerate a longer session so we can get to clearance in a reasonable amount of time. I’m not optimistic about being there before summer, but perhaps by fall? Upping the frequency to weekly sessions doesn’t seem to be an option, since it takes almost that long to grow the hairs long enough for her to remove quickly.
After 4 sessions I’m still reserving judgment, but if these two areas go well I can’t wait to start on bikini, navel, fingers & toes, and she even said she’d thin out my arm hair so I’ll have a look more natural than a smooth wax–and permanent!
Would love to hear others thoughts/experiences on underarm treatment! Thanks again for everything.